Trump says China tariffs will ‘come down substantially,’ hinting at potential U-turn
By
Nectar Gan and
Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN
Updated 5:07 AM EDT, Wed April 23, 2025
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on April 22, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Hong Kong/WashingtonCNN —
US President Donald Trump has signaled a potential U-turn on his trade war with China amid continued market volatility, saying the high tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.”
Trump’s remarks, made at a White House news event Tuesday, appear to mark a rhetorical climbdown after weeks of tough posturing and tit-for-tat retaliation that sent tariffs on China beyond a staggering 145%.
“145% is very high and it won’t be that high,” Trump said in a question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office. “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”
Trump made the comments when asked about
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks earlier in the day that the high tariff rates between the United States and China have effectively embargoed trade between the economies.
Bessent said at a private investment conference hosted by JP Morgan Chase that the trade war with China is unsustainable and he expects the battle to de-escalate in the very near future, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN.
Instead of a hard break or complete decoupling between the United States and China, Bessent told investors that the goal is to have a rebalancing of trade, the source told CNN.
That assessment gave a boost to a Wall Street rally that had taken shape earlier on Tuesday, with all three major US stock indexes hitting their highest levels of the day after Bessent’s remarks were made public.
Asian stocks also rose on Wednesday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index leading the regional gains, ending the trading day more than 2% higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished about 2% higher and South Korea’s Kospi closed up 1.5%.
Asked about Trump and Bessent’s comments on Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry said the US should “stop its threats and coercion, and engage with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and reciprocity” if it wants to make a deal.
“Claiming it wants to reach an agreement with China while constantly applying maximum pressure is not the right way to engage with China — and it simply won’t work,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the ministry, told reporters at a regular news conference.
“China’s position on the tariff war initiated by the United States is very clear: We do not want to fight, but we are not afraid to fight. If it’s to fight, we’ll fight till the end. If it’s to talk, our door is wide open,” he added.
Trump’s shift in tone also went viral on the Chinese internet. On Wednesday, the hashtag “Trump chickened out” was trending as a top topic on social media platform Weibo, racking up more than 150 million views.
The world’s two largest economies have slapped record tariffs on each other in a swiftly escalating fight that has roiled global markets, disrupted supply chains and stoked recession fears.
So far, China has struck a defiant tone and refused to back down. Instead, it retaliated by raising tariffs on US goods to 125%, adding more American companies on its export control list and unreliable entity list, and restricting the export of critical minerals used in everything from iPhones to missile systems.
Beijing also moved to exert pain on key US industries, restricting the number of Hollywood movies shown in the country and
returning at least two Boeing jets intended for use by Chinese airlines to the US.
‘Very nice’
Through it all, Trump has insisted that he has a “very good relationship” with Xi Jinping while waiting for the Chinese leader to reach out – and has told his team that the US will not make the first move, CNN reported earlier.
Rather than calling Trump to negotiate tariffs, Xi has instead launched a diplomatic charm offensive with other trade partners to push back against US efforts to use the tariff war to isolate China economically.
On Tuesday, Trump again expressed his hope for Xi to come to the negotiation table – and promised to “be very nice.”
Asked if the US was going to play hardball with China or Xi in order to make a deal, or if officials would mention the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump quickly responded: “No.”
“No, no, we’re going to be very nice. They’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens,” the president added. “But ultimately, they have to make a deal, because otherwise they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States, and we want them involved.”
“I think we’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together, so I think it’s going to work out very well,” he said.
A person familiar with the Chinese government’s thinking told CNN last week that before Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2, China had designated a point person for talks with the US, and that Beijing was unclear about the right contact on the US side. Trump may want to be his own negotiator, but this isn’t compatible with how China works, the source added.
Referencing hawkish or even hostile views on China expressed by Trump’s Cabinet members, the person said Trump’s failure to reject such views suggested he condoned them despite his public assertions about respecting and liking Xi.
Earlier this month, Beijing slammed US Vice President JD Vance for his
comments about “Chinese peasants” in an interview that has drawn widespread ire and ridicule on China’s internet.
